


Nothing in the Dark

by JuliaJekyll



Series: Ineffable Husbands + Livinia [7]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Crowley is a Mess (Good Omens), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Livinia is in this, M/M, Married Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Memories, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Past Torture, Platonic Soulmates, Romantic Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 16:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20763314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliaJekyll/pseuds/JuliaJekyll
Summary: Crowley has a nightmare involving his best demon friend and holy water. Aziraphale comforts him.Fair warning that this fic probably won't mean much to you if you haven't read any of the other works in this series.





	Nothing in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> I have decided that Aziraphale is Crowley's romantic soulmate and Livinia is his platonic soulmate. Just putting that out there!
> 
> The title of this fic comes from a line from The Twilight Zone: "There's nothing in the dark that isn't there when the lights are on."

_ Livinia screamed as the holy water rolled down her arm, leaving a bright red mark behind. She dropped to her knees, clutching at the mark, still screaming, her voice contorted in terrible pain that Crowley could only imagine. Tears of blood hit the floor in front of her as she began sobbing in agony, on her hands and knees. She didn't see the demon behind her, holding a bucket over his head… _

_ "No!" Crowley shouted. He tried to run to her, tried to tell her that there was someone behind her, but she couldn't hear him over the sound of her own pain, and he couldn't reach her in time… _

_ He heard a mighty splash as the demon overturned the bucket. Livinia's cries grew louder as the deluge of holy water hit her, but only for an instant, and then they faded into nothing, and so did she…. _

Crowley woke up with a horrible, sickening jolt. His throat tightened in panic, and an urgent nausea rose inside him. Instinctively, he rolled over and retched in the direction of the floor, dry-heaving several times. 

When the dry heaves finally stopped, he was weak and shivering. He looked wildly around the room. He was alone in bed. Trembling violently, he pulled himself to his feet. He was so unsteady that he had to support himself against the wall in order to cross the small room. 

Going down the stairs was even harder. His hand shook terribly on the banister, and the polished wood was cold against his bare feet. Desperately, he focused on the light at the bottom of the steps, knowing that when he reached it, everything would be alright. 

Aziraphale looked up when Crowley dragged himself into the area of the bookshop where the angel kept his desk. The look of pity in his husband's eyes was enough to make Crowley start sobbing immediately. Aziraphale got up quickly and came over to enfold him in his arms. 

"Shh, it's alright, darling," Aziraphale said soothingly, rubbing Crowley's back. "It's ok. We're ok. I'm here." When the demon's sobs quieted, Aziraphale held him at arm's length and asked softly "Was it me or her this time?"

"Her," Crowley said brokenly. "Is she still here?"

"She's here." Aziraphale took Crowley's hand and led him gently to the back room. 

Livinia was lying on Aziraphale's couch, asleep. Relief flooded Crowley's heart as he looked at her. She'd recently had her first mortal haircut, and her dark hair was shoulder-length now, falling into her face as she slept. She looked peaceful, despite the long, jagged scar on her right arm where she'd been burned with holy water at Crowley's trial in Hell. That part of his nightmare, at least, had been accurate. 

Crowley had been having the same two nightmares every time he slept for weeks now. Sometimes it was Livinia being killed by holy water, sometimes it was Aziraphale being destroyed by hellfire. He hadn't gotten used to having these dreams; the horror and anguish of seeing either his best friend or his husband executed was fresh every single time. After three Livinia-centered nightmares in a row, after each of which Crowley had immediately phoned her to make sure she was alright, Livinia had agreed to sleep over at Aziraphale's place for a few nights so that Crowley wouldn't have to disturb her so much. Right now, he was glad of it. Glad that he could see her and know she was ok.

Aziraphale was still holding Crowley, pressing gentle kisses to his bare shoulder. "You see?" he asked softly. "She's safe. I'm safe. And you're safe too, my dear. Everything is fine."

Crowley buried his face in Aziraphale's shoulder. "I'm scared, angel," he said softly. "I'm constantly scared that something will happen to one or both of you. It'd kill me if it did. I couldn't take it." 

"Oh, my poor darling." Aziraphale kissed his temple. "Would you like me to come upstairs with you?" 

Crowley nodded. "Please." 

"Alright. Let me just grab my book, and I'll be right up." 

Aziraphale went back to his desk in the other room, leaving Crowley alone with Livinia. A collection of images flashed through his mind; memories of their shared history. He remembered Livinia approaching him in Hell shortly after their Fall because she wanted someone to talk to _ : "Hi. I dunno about you, but this isn't really where I was expecting that whole revolution thing to go. My name is Livinia, by the way."  _

He recalled Livinia in Egypt, laboriously scraping meaningless hieroglyphs into the walls of tombs alongside the ones that actually meant something, muttering about how she was pretty sure that one day this would confuse and annoy the hell out of somebody. Livinia making friends with the poet Dante Alighieri and telling him all sorts of absurd things about Hell just to see which ones he'd believe. She'd read parts of The Inferno out loud to Crowley, cackling the whole time. Livinia standing in front of the Dark Council in 1848, nervously preparing for her presentation about Fool's Gold, which she'd recently come up with. 

That last memory reminded Crowley of his own presentation about the M25, during which Livinia had been the only person who'd looked even mildly interested.

_ "Can I hear a wahoo?" _

_ When no "wahoo" was forthcoming, Crowley caught Livinia's eye and gave her a meaningful look.  _

_ "Wahoo!" Livinia said, lifting her hands in a "raise the roof" gesture. Hastur, Ligur, Dagon, and Beelzebub all turned to stare at her. Livinia dropped her gaze to her lap and cleared her throat awkwardly.  _

_ Crowley had to give her points for loyalty. He continued: "Any questions?" _

Livinia just over a year ago, standing as a witness when Crowley had married Aziraphale.

Crowley smiled to himself as that memory floated through his mind. He took a deep breath. She was here. His best friend was safe. He had to remember that. 

"Ready to go up, dear?" Aziraphale asked. 

Crowley turned to him. "Yeah," he replied. Surely, he'd feel better if Aziraphale was with him. He gave Livinia's sleeping form one more glance.

"Love you," he told her softly, before following his husband upstairs. 

Once in the bedroom, Crowley settled into Aziraphale's arms. Aziraphale kissed him softly. "Try to get some proper sleep," he said. "Livinia is safe downstairs and I'm safe here, with you. Everything is as it should be." 

Crowley closed his eyes, relaxing into his husband's embrace. "I love you," he said, already sliding back into sleep.

"I love you, too," Aziraphale replied, as Crowley drifted off into more peaceful dreams. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos make me happy!


End file.
